Solutions Barbados tentatively supports pause on elections

At least one opposition party has expressed its willingness to support the Alliance Party for Progress (APP) which has suggested legal action against the government to ensure provisions are made for COVID-19-positive people to vote in the January 19 general elections or to postpone the polls.

Leader of Solutions Barbados Grenville Phillips II said Thursday that once the facts related to any court action and the basis for such were firmly established, his party would have no problem joining a lawsuit.

But declaring that Solutions Barbados does not support matters that are not meaningful, Phillips insisted that parties that intend to join the suit must first meet and agree on the grounds and then take the case to President Dame Sandra Mason for her direction.

On Wednesday, APP leader Bishop Joseph Atherley made the call for opposition parties to come together after Chairman of the Electoral and Boundaries Commission (EBC) Leslie Haynes, QC, said persons who tested positive for COVID-19 and are in isolation or quarantine cannot vote.

Atherley said if legal action was not taken, thousands of eligible voters will be “robbed” of their franchise.

And on Thursday, Phillips identified two options his party was willing to embrace, one of which is a court injunction to delay the poll.

But he said the more appropriate one would be to get the information from the Chief Electoral Officer confirming or denying that persons who tested positive for the virus would not be allowed to vote.

He said that being armed with the facts, the parties should take them to the President to have her delay the election.

“And let those who are pushing not to let people vote, justify why not,” he stated. “The basis of the directive that prevents the voting is a regulation. If that regulation conflicts with the Constitution, it is null and void. So it looks to me like a violation of the Constitution.”

When Barbados TODAY reached out to general secretary of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Derek Alleyne, he could not give a firm position at the time.

He said he was not aware that the matter of supporting the call for legal action had been discussed by the campaign team.

However, he promised to follow up on the issue.

General Secretary of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) Dr Jerome Walcott could not be reached for comment.
emmanueljoseph@barbadsotoday.bb